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Lal Masjid cleric tries to flee in burqa along with girls, arrested

Nirupama Subramanian

Ghazi’s brother, Abdul Rashid, still believed to be inside mosque

ISLAMABAD: A cleric of the Pakistan capital’s Lal Masjid, which is at the centre of a showdown between security forces and militant Islamist student, was caught and arrested on Wednesday as he tried to flee the mosque clad in a burqa, police said.

Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi was caught when he walked out with a group of girls who were leaving the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa complex on a government offer of safe passage and amnesty before a possible crackdown by security forces.

The black, all-covering veil with only a slit for the eyes is the garment by which the students of the Jamia Hafsa have come to be associated, and Mr. Ghazi was evidently trying to take advantage of this.

It is not clear how he was detected, but Inspector-General of Police Chaudhary Iftikhar confirmed the arrest.

However, Mr Ghazi’s brother, Abdul Rashid, and the moving force behind the Lal Masjid saga over the last five months, is still believed to be inside the mosque.

Earlier on Wednesday, the police lodged an FIR against the brothers.

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